U.S. Department of Defense and US Army “Salute” Alternative Methods of Healing

The war on drugs has a new ally… and to the rescue- the U.S. Department of Defense (equipped with major firepower) plans to appropriate several billion dollars to research Alternative Methods of Healing. In an article poster at Top Secret Writers.com, author and anti Pharma naturalist Kathleen Roberts is effusive in her findings:

Alternative Methods of Healing

Some results for alternative methods of healing of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder considered "Promising"

In 2008, the U.S. Army put up $4 million dollars to be used as grant money for research into alternative methods of healing such conditions as PTSD, depression, anxiety and substance abuse. The Pentagon has also dedicated $5 million to the study of alternative methods such as yoga, acupuncture and meditation for treating PTSD in veterans. Early results showed that acupuncture was helpful in treating PSTD, pain and depression. These were not the first attempts to find less than contemporary methods of treating PTSD. Research using acupuncture began as early as 2007. Complimentary and Alternative Medicine has also been studied to treat chronic pain. These studies were funded, in part, by the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Service and the U.S. Army Medical Command’s Department of Clinical Investigation. Results of the studies were mixed, but they did find that many alternative methods were useful in treating different types of pain. More recently in 2010, research was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology on the effects of reiki on Acute Coronary Syndrome. This study showed reiki to benefit patients, but it was unclear if the benefits would be long-term. The Department of Defense also recommended acupuncture as supplementary therapy to treat anxiety, pain, sleep problems and PTSD. It was also being used by field doctors to treat mild traumatic brain injuries. Currently, research is underway to test the value of meditation in the treatment of PTSD. read whole article

Why turn the U.S. Department of Defense turn to alternative methods of healing? This from Statesman.com:

The military also saw suicides spiking and knew it needed to do more to help soldiers recover, said Dr. Brian Earthman of Cedar Park, a psychiatrist who also is an Army Reserve major. “The military acknowledged we were not adequately meeting the needs of the soldiers in terms of PTSD treatment, and we started exploring different treatment options that weren’t our previous first-line treatments,” Earthman said. “They have ramped up their efforts to better treat PTSD.” In his private practice, Earthman refers some of his PTSD patients to acupuncture but says he knows that he is not the typical among civilian psychiatrists. “One thing about the military is they are very practical and very pragmatic,” Wesch said. “If something looks like it’s going to work, if you can demonstrate something works, it’s going to be approved.” read more

A win for Alternative Medicine? Maybe for just this one battle. But with the strong lobby by pharmaceutical companies, the FDA, AMA and doctors against alternative methods of healing, Alternative Medicine in my opinion is still in for a long war to come.